Caring is an Act of Maturity
by SageK
Summary: Set after 6x19, speculating on something that might happen in 6x20, with regards to Theo's ability to take pain. AU now that the finale has aired.
1. Chapter 1

The sounds of fighting, of screams and gunshots and running feet filtered in through the door of the room Corey and Mason had taken refuge in. Biting his lip, Corey looked over at mason and said, "I could try…."

"They know what you can do," Mason protested. "They saw us come in and they'll be ready for that...God, gunshots in a hospital. That's just…."

"Wrong," Corey agreed, gripping his hand and flinching as a body hit the door.

The melee seemed to have ended, which made them jump even more forcefully when the door crashed open, flying off its hinges.

Bloodied and ruffled, smudged with God only knew what and clothes torn in a dozen places, Theo Raeken's eyes swept the room, coming to rest on them. "Well, we gonna find Liam or what?" he asked, stepping over the prone -possibly dead- hunter.

Mason was a little shocked in himself when he realized he wasn't overly concerned with the hunter's well being. Normally, he wasn't one to wish pain upon anyone, but...yeah, it was easier to focus on the guns Theo was shoving at them instead of that little introspective minefield.

"Neither of you are fighters," the Chimera grunted. "Doesn't mean they won't kill you. Defend yourselves.'

"I don't know how to use a gun!" Corey blurted even as he took the weapon.

"Point and pull the trigger, don't squeeze," Mason said, gripping his own appropriated gun. "My dad's taken me to shoot skeet a bunch of times."

"Better than…," Theo began, then came to point and spun on his heel.

Exchanging a look, Corey and Mason chased after him, running down the halls. There were hunters slumped on the floor, panicked staff trying to make phone calls, some probably to Monroe or Gerard, others looking honestly confused and frightened. Probably not from Beacon Hills.

Theo plowed through a set of double doors and mason skidded in behind him. Two hunters were slumped on the floor, Gabe still standing. He was so focused on kicking Liam, who was curled on the ground, covered in blood that he didn't notice them until Theo crashed into him with a roar.

Theo was dangerous, they all knew that, but Mason had never seen him in action like this, not really. He crashed into Gabe, driving him into the wall hard enough to knock the air out of the taller boy. Gabe didn't give up though and his hand arched through the air, silver knife glinting. The Chimera caught his wrist and the sound of bone snapping filled the air as his arm bent in a place it really shouldn't bend.

A scream was torn from Gabe's throat and mason looked away, rushing to Liam's side with Corey. The hunters had hurt Liam, badly. Even with his werewolf healing, he was covered in bruises and blood, shot several times. "Oh no," Corey breathed, hands fluttering as he clearly didn't know where he could touch Liam without hurting him more.

"Liam, hey," Mason said, trying to keep the fear and horror out of his voice as Liam coughed, blood on his lips. "Corey...can you find some bandages? Gause or something?"

This was a hospital. There had to be bandages somewhere around here.

As Corey darted over to the cabinets there was a wet cracking sound and Gabe's screams cut off with a sort of brutal suddenness. Mason swallowed, trying not to think about what he was certain had just happened, but hearing the thud of a body falling to the ground didn't make it easy.

"What hurts worst….C'mon, Liam, talk to me," he prompted, trying to focus on his friend who needed his help. They had to get him stable and moving and get out of here...along with the 3 drugged werewolves who were the reason they were here in the first place.

Yeah, that was gonna be a piece of cake.

"It...hurts," Liam managed to groan, wincing as he shifted on the floor, eyes not really focusing. "Hurts…."

"I know, man," Mason soothed, grimacing as he heard the sound of Liam's bones shifting back into place. How many had to be moving at once if he, a human with unenhanced senses, could hear them?

"Are they just gonna let us walk out of here?" Corey asked, kneeling beside Mason, his arms full of gauze pads. "We saw them chain the doors."

"I unlocked them," Theo huffed, crouching at Liam's other side. "Or, you know, tore the doors off of their hinges. Same difference."

"Okay, that's mildly terrifying," Mason muttered, dabbing at a gash on Liam's cheek. Theo reached out a hand, knuckles scraped but healing, and placed it almost tentatively on Liam's neck. After a second, Mason sighed, realizing what Theo was trying to do. "I told you that…."

Theo gasped, eyes going wide as lines of black streaked up his arm. His face paled and his hand trembled, but he didn't draw back, leeching pain from Liam until the smaller Beta began to breathe more easily.

Mason blinked. "Unexpected," he said in surprise, exchanging a glance with Corey, who shrugged.

"Shit," Liam groaned, but his voice was already sounding stronger. "My ribs...he kept kicking me…."

"You two go disconnect them," Theo said, tossing a nod toward the prone figures on the beds. His second hand slid up under Liam's shirt, palming the damaged ribs. More black flowed up that arm and Liam sighed in relief.

Scrambling to his feet, Mason moved over to one of the beds. The IV lines were simple enough and he removed the lines from one after another. None of them seemed injured, just...asleep.

Corey moved towards the doors, peeking out. "I don't see anymore hunters," he said, sounding relieved. "How long till they wake up?"

"I don't...," Mason began, but the first of the werewolves sat up in his bed with a pissed off roar. "About now. Hey, stop! We're here to help you!"

By the time the three sleeping werewolves were awake, Liam was on his feet, leaning on Theo for support. "We've got to find Scott and regroup," Liam said and that made the 3 werewolves stop glaring suspiciously.

"Scott McCall?!"

TBC….


	2. Chapter 2

The final battle was long, terrible and bloody, preceded oddly enough by Coach Finstock giving a rousing rendition of the president's speech from Independence Day. Coach had popped up out of nowhere with Greenberg in tow and unlike the rest of the town, the two of them had their wits about them and wanted to stop the whole armed militia of PTA moms and dads roaming the streets as much as the pack did.

More people showed up to fight with them than expected, the supernatural population of Beacon Hills and the surrounding areas rallying, coming together at the call of a True Alpha. Help arrived from the outside too, starting with Stiles and Derek, who were soon followed by Cora and Braeden. Then Kira and Noshiko Yukimura showed up, ready and willing to fight. They hadn't been back an hour when Isaac Lahey, another of Scott's Betas who had been out of the country, arrived with Danny Mahealani and a whole bunch of French Hunters (sane, loyal to Chris Argent Hunters) in tow.

While Scott, who temporarily blinded himself, dispatched the Anuk-ite, the rest of them took on the hunters and armed towns people. Shockingly, Gerard put a yellow wolfsbane laced bullet in his daughter and Kate mauled him to death before Braeden put her out of her misery. Kira didn't kill Monroe, but she took her down hard after Lydia disarmed and disoriented the killer with her Banshee scream. The former guidance counselor was now in police custody.

Sheriff Stilinski, with the help of Agent McCall and Deputy Parrish had taken back the police station, kicking the asses of mutinous deputies who had tried to put up a fight. The cells were now overflowing with the more aggressive hunters, former deputies and anyone who they could prove had actually killed someone.

Most of the town had come to their senses once the Anuk-ite was taken out of the equation and were horrified by their actions. It didn't really make Liam feel any safer though, knowing what kind of hate was simmering under the surface of many of his neighbors.

The Beacon Hills natives needed to regroup, so the French hunters were left on damage and crowd control, making sure no one decided to try to eliminate witness to their own crimes, while the pack and their other allies crammed themselves into the McCall house. Melissa was busy patching up the humans who had been wounded with the help of Isaac (a lot of people had winced when the tall young man murmured something about having a lot of experience with patching himself up).

Leaving Mason and Corey curled up together on a chair, the pair having finally given in to the exhaustion they were all feeling, Liam found himself wandering out onto the porch. Theo was there, wearing a shirt borrowed from Scott that was too tight across his bulkier shoulders and biceps. Scott was strong and muscular, but Theo's build included a burlier upper torso.

Shaking his head to clear it, Liam chided himself for focusing on such an odd thing to notice. After all, Theo's build really had nothing to do with anything, Liam just appreciated that the other young man was fit…and he really needed sleep.

Yeah, that was it.

"How're you doing?" Liam asked, thinking the question seemed a little lame, but not knowing what else to say.

The Chimera had been wounded in the final battle, shot twice (thankfully not with wolfsbane bullets) and stabbed once, but, like all the other injured werewolves, his body had healed.

Theo shrugged. "I'm fine…I just don't know…" He flexed his hands, looking down at them like he didn't recognize them. "I feel different. Ever since I got back from…but more so lately. I don't…."

Liam has never really thought of himself as being good with emotions. Hell, he still fought to control his IED daily, but he could read the honest confusion in Theo's gaze.

"What happened before I brought you back?" Liam impulsively asked, because it seemed reasonable to think that something had changed Theo during that time.

With a wince, Theo looked away. "I died over and over again. I saw Tara and she took her heart back so many times. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I just ran and dies…until I realized I should just stop running. I deserved it for what I'd done."

It was the first time Liam had heard Theo outright admit that what he had done in the past had been seriously fucked up. Sure, he'd made a few comments about changing (and had demonstrated he had with actions), but there was something in his tone that told Liam the other boy wasn't lying or trying to manipulate him.

Mostly, Theo sounded tired and sad.

"You did deserve it," Liam agreed, placing a hand on Theo's arm. "But you don't deserve it now. Honestly, you were not a good person, but people can change. You have. I mean…you took Gabe's pain, just because it was right. That means something."

Theo met his gaze. "That kid was an ass. He made stupid choices, listened to bad people and did terrible things. But he _was a kid_ and he was alone and dying hurts so much…."

The raw pain in Theo's voice made Liam's chest hurt and he squeezed Theo's wrist. He wanted to make the older boy feel better, but this wasn't the sort of hurt that would disappear in a moment. "Scott says you can stay. In the pack, I mean," Liam told him, knowing Theo desperately wanted to be a part of the pack. "But if you ever try to hurt Scott again, I'm pretty sure Malia and Isaac already have some plan for disposing of your body."

When Scott had let the pack in on his decision to allow Theo and Peter to join them if they wanted to, Malia had protested loudly and then filled in those who hadn't been around recently. Soon, Malia and Isaac were bonding over having very strong "Protect Scott From His Own Tendency To Be Too Nice" instincts.

A small smile graced Theo's face. "That…I'm glad. I don't really have anyone else."

That made Liam's brow furrow as a thought struck him. "Hey, where have you been living?"

"My truck," Theo answered, rolling his shoulders as though thinking of the cramped space.

Wrinkling his nose, Liam came to a decision. "You can stay with me. My folks are pretty cool. They don't even know I'm a werewolf and they still didn't join Gerard's little torch wielding mob," he said with a nod.

Surprise registered in Theo's eyes. "Really?" he asked, hope tinging his voice.

Liam squeezed his wrist again, fingers slipping down to clasp his warm, broad palm. "Really. Now let's go in. Mrs. McCall let Derek take over her kitchen and Cora and Braeden went to the store and bought out the meat department. Whatever he's making smells awesome."

A small laugh spilled past Theo's lips and he smiled, all bright, soft eyes and Liam's breath caught again.

Together, they entered their house to join the rest of the pack, just in time to hear Coach declare, "Boy, I was glad when I found out you were just a werewolf, Hale. With all that lurking around the lacrosse field and hanging out with underage kids, I thought you were some kind of pervert."

The much beleaguered expression on Derek's face got the whole room roaring and only a couple of people noticed that Liam was still holding Theo's hand.

TBC….


	3. Chapter 3

Things settled down fairly quickly in the aftermath of the final battle. Most people in town seemed appalled by their own actions, while others retreated into denial, pretending nothing had happened.

Still, some good was coming from the new normal.

Derek, Braden and Cora decided to stay in Beacon Hills and, given the gutting of his department, Sheriff Stilinski offered them jobs. Braeden, already happy with her job, turned him down, but the Hales accepted. Chris Argent agreed to a part time position with the department as well. Stiles had advocated for a job of his own, but his father wanted him to return to Quantico to finish training there.

Agent McCall put the kibosh on that idea. Apparently, the training co-ordinators were not pleased with Stiles's mysterious mid-raid disappearing act. Though Derek's name had since been cleared, Stiles was no longer welcome in the program.

The French Hunters dispersed quickly, though Isaac and Danny remained., as did Jackson and Ethan.

The McCall pack was bigger than Liam had ever seen, not that this was a bad thing.

At home, Liam's parents were a little surprised by the sudden appearance of Theo, but they rolled with it when they found out he didn't have anywhere else to go. Plus, he was a really good houseguest. He helped with the dishes, kept his room clean and was quiet and respectful.

Basically, Liam's folks adored him.

Liam liked having Theo around too…maybe more than he would like to admit. The Chimera was smart, funny, a worthy video game opponent…but wow, was he ever distracting.

The first night Liam brought Theo home, he'd almost been amused by how happy the other boy was to take a hot shower. The Chimera spent a good 30 minutes in the bathroom and when he finally finished, Liam was waiting to tease him, but the comment died on his lips.

Steam billows out of the bathroom as Theo emerged, damp chest glistening, wet hair tousled. He wore a towel sling low around his hips and Liam choked a bit, eyes darting from the heat flushed cheeks, down to a droplet of water rolling along the curve of one pec, down solid abs until it was finally absorbed in the towel…right near the cut V of his pelvis.

Liam stared long and hard before shaking himself and practically leaping to his feet, muttering about food.

Every day since, he'd managed to bump into Theo in a similar state of undress and Liam's nerves were starting to fray. He wondered if anyone noticed, but he thought he was keeping s kid on things pretty well. After all, as a teenage boy, he was used to unexpected, unexplainable trips to bonerville.

The softer moments though, those were what Liam knew would be his undoing. Seeing Theo sitting on his bed, reading, quiet and content. The soft brush of Theo's hair against his hand. Hearing Theo singing along to some silly song on the radio with Liam's mom while he helped her with dinner…Each little moment made Liam smile and his heart skip.

Nights were harder though.

At night, he often heard soft whimpers and cries from Theo's room and he couldn't help but investigate. The other boy seemed to know he was there and quieted, comforted by Liam's presence.

Tonight, the nightmares seemed to be worse than usual. Without thinking, Liam stroked Theo's fluffy hair back from his face and the other boy immediately jerked away, skittering back, curling against the wall and hugging his knees to his chest, eyes panicked.

"Hey, it's just me," Liam said, not wanting to further spook Theo.

Slowly, the older boy relaxed, still tee and curled in on himself. "Sorry, I…."

"Had a nightmare," Liam concluded, settling down on the bed. "C'mon. You'll sleep better if you're not alone."

* * *

That was how they ended up sleeping together on a fairly regular basis. Among the pack, a few eyebrows were raised and it was Jackson who pointed out, "You two are all over each other, scent wise."

Liam was pretty sure it was Lydia who smuggled pamphlets about safe sex into his back pack…or maybe Ms. McCall.

The pamphlets going into detail about how 2 guys have sex, those could only have come from Stiles. His giggles were a sure give away in retrospect and Liam wished he'd had the forethought to check his bag as they left the pack meeting.

Instead, he'd just dumped his bag out onto the bed during a search for a pen. Theo was in the room of course to see the pamphlets that landed atop the pile of books, all bold text and bright, non-threatening drawings.

 _'Why Lube is your new best friend!'_

 _'_ _So you want to find your prostate (or someone else's)!'_

 _'_ _The ins and outs of going in an out!'_

Wide eyed, Liam snatched up the damn pamphlets, going red in the face. "Damn it, Stiles!" he muttered, trying to shove them in a drawer, out of sight. "I swear, I'm gonna start putting a padlock on my bag…."

His voice trailed off when he saw Theo's face, a moment before the other boy began to laugh.

"Oh, it's good to know I'm not the only one," Theo wheezed, opening his bag and displaying an array of pamphlets. One in particular made Liam gulp.

 _'_ _Bottoming for Beginners!'_

Licking his lips, Liam cast a look at Theo and asked, "You don't seem freaked out that they think…you know…."

"I'm not," Theo replied, stepping closer. "Are you?"

"No!" Liam almost yelped, then took a breath, steadying himself. "No, I just wish…they wouldn't try to be helpful. It's kind of horrifying."

The slow smile that crept across Theo's face made Liam's stomach flip in a very pleasant way. "Oh, I don't know…I read some of the literature. It was far less traumatic than when I Googled 'How to have gay sex'."

Liam's eyes grew wide at the idea of Theo looking into that on Google. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed, unable to hold back his laughter. "I…I bet that was…."

"So much porn," Theo agreed solemnly before his composure broke and his laughter joined Liam's. "So much truly disturbing porn."

For several minutes, all they could do was laugh, nearly doubled over, clinging to each other in order to keep upright. Each time Liam felt like he was getting a hold of himself, he would meet Theo's gaze and think of what kind of results that Google search had produced…and he would lose it again.

"Oh man," Theo wheezed, head falling forward to rest on Liam's shoulder. His hair brushed Liam's neck, achingly soft and smelling of Liam's own shampoo. The contact sent shivers through Liam, sobering him and her brought up a hand, cupping the back of Theo's neck, thumb brushing along the other boy's jaw.

In a matter of moments both boys quieted, the only sounds in the room their quiet breathing. Theo raised his head, looking searching into Liam's eyes. He was so close, the skin under Liam's fingers so warm and vital….

Later, neither could say who moved first, their lips coming together in a surprisingly tender kiss. Liam's fingers slid up, burying themselves in Theo's hair as the taller boy's hands fell to Liam's hips, one wrapping around to press at the small of his back, pulling him closer.

As far as first kisses went, it was pretty epic…or would have been, had Liam's mom not interrupted them, shouting up the stairs to let them know dinner was ready.

Still, it was a hell of a kiss…and held the promise of far more to come.

TBC….maybe? IDK, is this a good place to end it?


End file.
